Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Deal
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Old District, Sector 2.
Haon sat facing Hunter in an empty building, furnished with only two chairs.
Chacha and Bani stood behind Haon, while Juyeol stood behind Hunter, looking none too pleased with the situation.
He had managed to stop her from searching for Nova, but he couldn't prevent her from meeting with Hunter.
The two had arranged to meet long ago; it had just been postponed time and again.
And it seemed Haon had something she needed to do.
Hunter spoke first.
“We’re still looking for Bae Anjae and Halo, but with the potions spreading and the situation at Headquarters being what it is, we’ve made no significant progress.”
“There’s something else I want to talk about first.”
Haon said resolutely, her face looking much more vibrant.
“I’m going to take Sector 4.”
Juyeol stared at Haon, his expression shocked. Chacha and Bani also exchanged deeply unsettled glances.
Hunter studied Haon as if trying to gauge her true intentions, then asked.
“Are Sectors 1 and 2 not enough for you?”
“Have you seen the children in Sector 2? The ones who go straight from the factory to the shops, handing out promotional flyers for illegal performances late into the night.”
“…”
“I can’t accept that this is happening just because Halo disappeared.”
Haon didn’t hide her rare display of anger, as if the mere thought of it made her blood boil.
They were children around the same age as Parang.
Their parents must be sending them to work with hearts breaking.
If they didn’t, they would have to take out loans with exorbitant interest rates from the sector’s boss to pay the protection fees.
“So, are you going to kill Rusty?”
“I don’t want to kill him.”
Haon answered without hesitation.
“Even after what Halla did to you?”
“That won’t happen again. I’m just letting you know in advance so you won’t be surprised when the owner of the Old District changes again.”
“You seem quite confident you’ll succeed in taking Sector 4.”
Though Hunter said as much, she didn’t think it was reckless.
It was that small hand, after all, that had held up the collapsing Hero Headquarters until everyone had evacuated.
“I don’t know how you plan to manage three sectors, but Headquarters does not get involved in territory disputes. I hope you don’t end up like Cue.”
“Ah, about that. What happened to the Hero Headquarters?”
Haon abruptly changed the subject.
“Did you decide to rebuild on the same site? Or did you find a new location?”
“…Why are you curious about that?”
Hunter had no desire to think about her biggest recent headache here.
Finding a building or land was a problem, but the vast amount of information Headquarters had collected over the years was irreplaceable.
She had consistently argued for a backup server, but it was rejected every time due to cost.
Haon watched Hunter, whose complex thoughts didn't show on her face at all, and then smiled faintly.
“The Headquarters’ server. I actually backed it up.”
*Clatter.*
Hunter shot up so violently that her chair was knocked over.
“You tampered with the Headquarters’ server without permission?”
Flinching at her hard, cold expression, Haon quickly waved her hands.
“Wait! You agreed to it, Hunter!”
“I highly doubt that.”
“W-Well, you were unconscious, but the entire server was about to be wiped out, what was I supposed to do!”
Hunter could no longer hide her agitation.
Having the server backed up was welcome news, but the idea that an outsider—whose identity was unclear, no less—might have accessed all their classified information was unacceptable.
As if sensing her thoughts, Haon calmly added.
“I haven’t opened a single file of the Hero Headquarters’ information. I swear. I set it up to log any access, so I can show you the records.”
“…”
Hunter pressed a hand to her throbbing head, overwhelmed with thoughts, and sat back down. Juyeol had, at some point, set the chair upright again.
“Are you trying to make a deal with this?”
“Something like that.”
“You don’t need money, I assume.”
Haon pointed a finger at the floor and said.
“How about making this building the new Hero Headquarters?”
“…What?”
“This was Halla’s building. Seven floors above ground, five below. Including the building next to it, which can be converted into dormitories.”
Hunter looked at Juyeol in disbelief. He didn’t seem particularly surprised, as if he had already heard this story.
Instead, he casually supported Haon.
“Isn’t it a good idea? You have nowhere to go anyway, and it’ll be hard to find a building this big.”
“…”
Hunter turned back to the front, her face a mask of incomprehension.
“That’s what you want?”
“Yes.”
Haon replied with a bright smile.
If she acquired Sectors 1, 2, and 4, it would obviously be difficult to manage them all safely.
But if the Hero Headquarters were located in Sector 2, that would be a different story.
There would be no attempts to seize Sector 2, and it would be inconvenient for villains to run rampant in the other sectors of the Old District.
It would also be easier to monitor the underground tunnels Bae Anjae had created in Sector 2.
Moreover, if Headquarters employees commuted to the Old District, she could at least bring up the idea of creating a bus route that went deeper into the area, and perhaps the police might even start looking into the smaller incidents there.
Hunter also considered the advantages Haon would gain, but it still didn’t seem like enough.
“This can hardly be called a deal. Why are you doing this?”
“I’m just doing what I can. The world needs heroes, after all.”
“…”
Hunter had the illusion of the war she’d seen on the USB unfolding behind Haon, who no longer hid the back of her hand.
*So you’re still standing on the front lines, is that it?*
Letting out a sigh that sounded like a dry laugh, Hunter checked the date and asked.
“So when do you plan to strike Sector 4?”
“Right now.”
“…?”
“Right now, this instant.”
Behind Hunter's dumbfounded expression at Haon’s unhesitating reply, Juyeol’s shocked face was visible.
* * *
The Old District’s Sector 4 crumbled quickly.
Rusty’s gang had no way of stopping the flock of mechanical cranes and Haon, who had stormed in without any warning.
At the very moment Haon attacked, they had been discussing how to squeeze the residents of Sector 4 more effectively.
They were in the middle of suggesting that they raise the protection fees for childless households, since having more children meant more workers to exploit, when they were ambushed.
The gang members frantically chugged potions, but dealing with them was easy. Every mechanical crane was equipped with a nullification patch gun.
The hardest part had been leaving Juyeol behind, who had asked if he could at least help while wearing a mask.
Heroes were not to interfere in the Old District’s territory disputes. That rule applied to Juyeol as well.
Hunter, also worried about Juyeol, had given him some busywork: taking pictures of the Sector 2 building and confirming its actual dimensions to report as the new Hero Headquarters.
In truth, Haon had already prepared all of that, but she feigned ignorance, lest Juyeol try to intervene in this fight.
Surveying the mechanical cranes from the front line, Haon thought the end was in sight and aimed her phone at the fallen Rusty on the ground.
“What is this sudden, cowardly act! You’ve already taken two sectors, isn’t this excessive greed!”
His ability to melt metal with just a gaze was completely ineffective against the mechanical cranes and Haon.
That was thanks to the thick mana shield she had wrapped around herself beforehand.
“Say you surrender. Then I’ll let you live.”
“How can I believe that?”
Rusty glared at Haon, his expression one of humiliation. Even in a moment like this, his tone was gentlemanly.
“Should we bet on Nova this time, too? I let Halla live, didn’t I?”
“I’m well aware she’s barely clinging to life.”
“That’s…”
Haon had heard about Halla from Chacha. She had suffered a terrible fate at Nova’s hands.
“Halla tried to kill me. If you don’t cling to Sector 4, nothing like that will happen.”
“Ridiculous…!”
Rusty ground his teeth and scanned his surroundings.
His men had all been subdued by the mechanical cranes; he was the only one still conscious.
As Haon wondered what to do with Rusty, who still hadn't given up and was looking for an opening, she tried to persuade him.
“I have no intention of taking your businesses. If you just give me Sector 4—”
Just then, Haon’s mana shield cracked with a *snap*, and a sharp pain shot through her wrist.
“Ugh!”
She had been attacked by a thin strand of mana that had flown in suddenly.
The impact sent the phone she’d been holding flying to the side.
*Bae Anjae…!*
Before searching for the terrorist with her eyes, Haon tried to retrieve her phone first.
Not missing the opportunity, Rusty lunged and grabbed Haon’s ankle.
“Aaargh!”
As Haon was thrown to the ground, the cold muzzle of a gun pressed against her head.
“!”
Rusty, his perspective now reversed, smirked viciously.
“You never let go of that phone. I suppose you’re nothing without it.”
Haon sensed that he was going to shoot immediately. He intended to kill her right away, before she had a chance to create an opening.
But even in this perilous situation, she strangely didn’t feel the same premonition of death she had when she was drowning.
“Then, give my regards to Cue.”
*Click.*
The moment Rusty pulled the trigger, blood splattered across Haon’s cheek and neck.